Ethan Spark celebrates a well-timed three-ball. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
A superb passer and a dangerous scorer, Spark was electrifying on the soccer pitch.
“Just give me the dang ball!”
Splash. Splash. Splash.
It’s the sound of a high-arcing three-point bomb dropping back to Earth and gently snapping the bottom of the net while knifing the collective heart of five rivals.
It’s the sound a soccer ball makes after it travels half the length of the field, exploding off the toes of a marksman, then whistling past defenders and the goalie to bury itself, improbably but wonderfully, in the back of the net.
It’s the sound Ethan Spark made when he worked.
The 2018 Coupeville High School grad was a cold-blooded killer and thriller during his time in a Wolf uniform, and it’s for that we induct him today into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.
After this, when you look at the top of the blog, up under the Legends tab, you’ll find Spark hanging out with big sis Jenn, as both of Kali Barrio’s children take up residence in our little digital hall o’ wonders.
During his time on the pitch and hard-court, Ethan was Coupeville’s answer to Scottie Pippen, and I mean that with a deep amount of respect.
Michael Jordan was Michael Jordan, but never forget Pippen was an NBA Hall of Fame player, a six-time champ, and one of the best to ever pick up a basketball.
Spark played alongside Hunter Smith on the basketball court, and the Leyva cousins (Abraham, Aram, and Derek) plus Will Nelson, on the soccer pitch, some of the most electrifying athletes CHS has witnessed.
But they, like Jordan, became better because they had Pippen running alongside them.
On the basketball court, Spark was a fearless shooter, one who lived to gut other team’s with three-balls a-droppin’.
He fully believed he could hit any shot, from any angle on the floor, at any point of the game, and he backed that up more often than not.
And every time Spark elevated, slight smirk on his face, and drilled the bottom out of the net, he opened things up for Smith, and made it tougher for other teams to focus on the high-scoring rampager.
Across two varsity hoops seasons, Spark dropped in 352 points, which puts him #68 on the CHS boys career scoring list, a chart which covers 102 seasons of Wolf basketball.
He could have finished higher if he had been more selfish, but Spark was also a strong, and willing, passer who often delighted in sucking the defense to him, then dishing it to a suddenly wide-open Smith, Joey Lippo, or Gabe Wynn.
Ethan was also fond of teaming up with Hunter Downes as the duo burrowed deep into their rival’s heads.
Not afraid to exchange elbows with larger players, both played with nice lil’ chips on their shoulders, provoking their opponents into lapses in judgement, then strolling away, smirks intact, as the refs punished the other guy.
That carried onto the soccer pitch, where Spark played rough ‘n ready, while also showcasing one of the best scoring touches in the game.
Like his older sister and her bionic leg, Ethan was the guy the Wolves went to when they needed someone to crush a ball from deep in his own territory.
He could air the ball out, but also showed a sometimes uncanny touch, using his long shots as weapons, and not just as a way to clear the ball from his own side of the field.
With 17 career goals, Spark stands #5 on the CHS boys soccer career scoring chart, though he’s being a bit short-changed.
Injuries took away much of his senior season, preventing him from keeping pace with Nelson, who tallied 20 scores across four seasons.
But, when he was healthy, Spark was Pippen, fully capable of roasting teams by himself, but also a highly-efficient set-up man, his passes slicing through defenses to set up the Leyva trio for a hail of goals.
And yet, with all the three-balls and the game-busting penalty kicks, the moment I will most remember from his career didn’t involve a single point.
It came during his freshman season, when he was a fast-rising JV hoops star intent on blowing up everyone in his sight.
Sometimes literally.
Chasing a loose ball as it careened towards the sideline, Spark reached the point where 99% of players would stop, then jammed the gas pedal through the floor.
Flinging his arm out at the last millisecond to redirect the ball back onto the court, he exploded through a wall of chairs.
CHS players and coaches flew through the air like bowling pins, as Spark spun towards the locker room door and completely, absolutely destroyed a large water jug that was minding its own business.
Complete devastation ruled the land. Referees stood with their mouths agape.
Bodies and chairs were everywhere, and in the middle of where the tornado touched down stood Spark, drenched head to toe in water.
From somewhere to his left, Wolf coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh plucked himself from the floor, shaking his head.
“You crazy man! You crazy… and I like it!!”
Slight nod, slight smirk, and Spark loped away to the other end of the court, having taken the first step on a rampage which would carry him to the Hall of Fame.
Scottie Pippen would have been proud.
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